Philippines evacuates 700,000 ahead of powerful typhoon

More than 700,000 people fled the central Philippines amid threats of giant waves, floods and landslides as powerful Typhoon Melor approached the archipelago nation, officials said Monday. 


Melor brushed the northern tip of Samar, a farming island of 1.5 million people early Monday, with winds gusting at 185 kilometres (115 miles) per hour, the state weather bureau said. There were no immediate reports of casualties or damages. 


Samar was among areas devastated in 2013 by Typhoon Haiyan, when giant waves wiped out entire communities, leaving 7,350 people dead or missing. 


Authorities warned that Melor's powerful winds had the potential to whip up four-metre (13-feet) high waves, blow off tin roofs and uproot trees while heavy rains within its 300-kilometre diameter could trigger floods and landslides. 


In Albay province alone, almost 600,000 people were evacuated due to fears that heavy rains could cause mudslides on the slopes of nearby Mayon Volcano, according to the national disaster monitoring office. 


Residents carrying bags of clothes and water jugs clambered onto army trucks in Albay's Legazpi City, as authorities sounded an evacuation alarm, according to an AFP photographer at the scene. Huge waves crashed into the city's deserted boulevard as palm trees swayed amid strong winds

Source: NNA